Indian-born British billionaire plans to break Tesla’s record for world’s biggest battery

Aiding South Australia's power crisis

The world’s most powerful lithium-ion battery was built last year by Elon Musk’s Tesla at the Hornsdale Power Reserve. But it looks like a new project could soon steal its place in the record books.

An Indian-born British businessman, Sanjeev Gupta has plans to build a 120 megawatt/140 megawatt-hour battery, beating out the 100 megawatt/129 megawatt-hour battery by Tesla in Jamestown, South Australia.

Billionaire Gupta bought a steelworks in Whyalla, South Australia, last August through his Liberty House firm and intends to power it with a 200-megawatt solar farm, hence the need for world-leading battery to store the energy. The solar farm will be constructed by Gupta’s GFG Alliance’s clean energy company – Simec Zen Energy.

For the project, the South Australian government has put up a $7.8 million loan to aid the battery's construction as it will assist the state's local grid stability.

The South Australia region currently depends on solar and wind for 50% of its power, and considering this is the second big-scale power project in South Australia in recent months, it's evident that they are determined to pursue renewable energy seriously.